Sony’s newest cameras, the Alpha 7 and 7R, are what the company calls “the world’s smallest full-frame interchangeable lens models” — and they’re threatening the bulky DSLRs that have been standard for years. The full-frame sensored cameras weigh only about a pound each, yet they record images that are equal in detail and sharpness to those from larger models like the D800 and the Canon 5D Mark III. The new Sony cameras will be on the market in December. Continue reading Sony’s Newest Pro-Quality Cameras Threaten Bulky DSLRs

A new app from London-based Obvious Engineering allows iPhone users to easily capture and share 3D images. Seene is compatible with Apple’s iPhone 4S and higher, and browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Safari that support WebGL for 3D. It works by aiming your phone at a subject and moving around to record different angles. The progress is then overlaid on top of a video feed, resulting in a “seene” that builds automatically, which can be shared via social tools. Continue reading Capture and Share 3D Images with the Seene App for iPhone

Google announced that beginning in November, it may display users’ names, photos from their profiles, ratings and reviews in social advertisements, an approach called “shared endorsements.” Social ads can potentially reproduce the word-of-mouth endorsement from friends as an online experience. Google may face a challenge to get users comfortable with the idea of giving endorsements, while some question their value and others raise privacy issues. Continue reading Google to Debut New Social Advertising with User Information

Twitter has finally developed a more robust full-screen experience with its new app designed specifically for Android tablets. The app, introduced last Thursday, will initially work only with Samsung tablets, but will be made available for other Android tablets by the end of the year. Twitter has added some Samsung-specific innovations, including simultaneous multi-app views; a Twitter widget that delivers breaking news, sports, and photos; and the ability to annotate images in tweets. Continue reading Twitter Releases New Mobile App Designed for Android Tablets

Facebook announced that it will begin using popular photo- and video-sharing service Instagram, which it acquired last year for about $1 billion, as a new vehicle for delivering advertisements. The move marks the first attempt by Instagram to leverage its growing popularity for revenue (it has yet to generate income for social giant Facebook). The announcement came shortly before competitor Twitter released financial details regarding its planned IPO. Continue reading Facebook to Start Using Instagram as New Advertising Vehicle

Since March, Emily White has been leading a team to develop a paid advertising program for Instagram. The photo-sharing service has been ad-free since the start, and may risk losing users when it adopts advertisements, especially from its large, young user base. White is working to establish relationships with brands, and to expand Instagram as a brand marketing platform. Yet it is unclear how advertisers and brands will pay for a service they use for free. Continue reading Instagram to Begin Experimenting with Advertising Service

Facebook announced that it is updating its privacy policy to remind users that their data can be used by advertisers. Facebook has made changes to two legal documents in order to make it clear that users grant Facebook the right to share their name, profile picture and content with advertisers. While Facebook’s policy has never been a secret, Facebook hopes to make their rules more explicit for users who may have been confused. Continue reading Facebook Updates Privacy Policy, Details Use of Personal Data

Facebook announced its new shared photo albums feature yesterday that allows as many as 50 “contributors” to upload 200 images each to the same album. That means the shared albums can be as large as 10,000 photos in total. Previously, users were only able to upload photos to albums they had created, while albums were limited to 1,000 images. The new feature may affect photo album apps such as Albumatic and Flock. It is also similar to Google+’s Party Mode, which lets users share photos and videos. Continue reading Facebook Unveils Shared Photo Albums, Ideal for Group Events

New York-based startup Foursquare may have found its most lucrative business move yet, which involves monetizing data about venues and locations that has been collected from millions of check-ins. The company already monetizes data through a partnership with Gnip, which sells packaged data from social services like Twitter, but these efforts may be expanded in the future if Foursquare partners with Yahoo for the company’s location data. Continue reading Foursquare and Yahoo Discussing Potential Data Partnership

JPEGmini is a photo optimization app and service that offers advanced compression capabilities for standard JPEG images. Developed by ICVT, an Israeli media technology company, JPEGmini will decrease an image file’s size without affecting its quality. It is cross platform and fully compatible with current JPEG standards. JPEGmini is an addition to other JPEG optimizers such as JPEG2000 and Google’s WebP, which are not yet fully adopted. Continue reading JPEGmini Shrinks Image Sizes, But Maintains Their Quality

Photo sharing and social media are paving new ways to communicate, simply and without words. They are forming a new online language, one that is universal and overcomes language barriers. Most major social media platforms offer photo and new video sharing services, and they are receiving major investments to do so. These new services are starting to chip away at established text messaging, but some are concerned of this new communication’s effect. Continue reading Social Media Photo Apps Creating a New Internet Language

Bell Labs is developing a new class of imaging device that does not require a lens, but instead uses a light sensitive sensor to create a high resolution image. A new technique known as compressive sensing minimizes redundancy to acquire data with carefully chosen measurements. The camera, which merely features an aperture assembly and a sensor, records images that are never out of focus. Additionally, when using two pixels instead of one, it can create two different images of the scene. Continue reading Bell Labs: Lensless Camera Records Multiple View Images

Pixtr is a new iPhone app that creates subtle changes to facial features of people in photographs, serving almost like an airbrush tool to manipulate mild imperfections. “It uses facial recognition software to scan the photo and make minor adjustments like slimming a nose or a jawline, trimming eyebrows, correcting camera distortion,” reports Business Insider. “It takes into account things like sex, hair color, age.” Continue reading Pixtr App Uses Facial Recognition to Make You Look Better